let’s talk about branded headshots

brand photographer Christine Gosch

Headshots are so important for any personal brand. Consumers feel more comfortable purchasing from those they feel comfortable with, and a great headshot is the perfect way to introduce yourself online and gain that trust of potential clients.

There are FOUR characteristics every headshot must have. They need to be effective, simple, on-brand, and flattering. Let’s dissect these characteristics.

EFFECTIVE:

You want your headshots to give insight into what you do and communicate the mood your brand is all about. In the photo below, Katie (a business coach and founder of Cottage Hill Magazine) is calmly note-taking while at a coaching session. It shows you what she does by utilizing an environmental portrait. Even though she’s actively working, the photo still gives you a clear photo of her face so potential clients know what she looks like.

SIMPLE:

If your headshot photo contains too much fuss or complication, your audience loses the focus of your headshots, which should be you. K.I.S.S (or, keep it simple, stupid as Dwight K. Schrute says. “Great advice, hurts my feelings everytime”). Eliminate all unnecessary items from your shots, which can be things hanging on a wall behind you such as art or decor, items off your table (a few key pieces are ok if they relate to your brand) and furniture moved to eliminate clutter. LESS IS MORE. In the shot of Elizabeth below, we focused on her by moving all furniture out of the room and dressing her in a simple white dress.

ON-BRAND:

Utilize this chance to show off the textures, colors, and vibe of your brand. Sharon of Pressed Paper is all about high quality product, simplicity, and relaxing. Although she makes amazing handmade paper of all colors, her brand colors are very neutral so a black and white film stock was fitting. This photo is calm and simple, which is definitely what I think of when I think of her brand as a whole.

FLATTERING:

This should be an obvious one, but there are a couple of aesthetic elements that play into this. You want great light and location, good angles, maybe even hire a professional hair and makeup artist, and obviously hiring a great photographer helps with all of that. I can do an entire separate blog post about how to find the right photographer for you (and I probably will) but making sure that you’re working with an experienced photographer that works well with different kinds of professionals, in different settings, with different lighting situations. In the photo below, Kaley wanted a flattering photo, so we chose to show off her amazing hair and natural makeup, plus look at that lighting. Dead. RIP me. SO good.

LIGHTWELL CO MINI BRAND SESSION

film photographer Christine Gosch

So excited to share these with you! I’m always a little envious of small businesses who produce a physical product. I love working with my hands and having the ability to tangibly see your progress. I don’t get to witness that aspect with photography, so watching the Lightwell Co team work was so great. I can definitely appreciate the work that goes into what they’re doing. For their mini brand session, they wanted to show off the progress of making their candles, including photos of candles being poured, labels being put on, and a few of the other steps utilized by the handmade candle business based out of Houston, Texas.

First, they set out a small batch of their beautiful containers in rows. They have a couple of different vessel options, but for this small batch in particular, they used their white matte porcelain containers which are so beautiful. Perfect for a minimal aesthetic. Then they poured coconut soy wax flakes into a pitcher to heat it into liquid form. While the wax is melting, they place a wick in the center of each empty container. Once the wax is melted, it’s hand-poured into the wick-prepared containers. A labor of love, but so worth it.

The room started to fill up with the scent they were pouring (which also happens to be my favorite scent they offer)- Moss & Amber. Deciding my favorite scent was so tough because all of their scents are SO amazing. After a candle solidifies, they label it (obsessed with their logo/ branding, BTW) and put a letter pressed dust cover on it before packaging it up and shipping it to it’s new home, whether it be to an individual consumer or any one of their boutique stockists across the country and West Elm. AND they offer hand soap and lotion, so now you can smell as good as the candles make your home smell!

They’ve got nothing but bright things in their future and I’m so grateful I got the opportunity to photograph their beautiful, quality product :)